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If you life on the East Coast or travel to the East Coast on vacation, when the temperatures climb you know that mosquitos are not going to be your only problem. For those that live along the East Coast, and in some parts of California, the disease known as Lyme Disease is more than a nuisance. Lyme Disease is a tick-borne illness that starts as a bacterial infection and can lead to some serious problems. It was named after the town in Connecticut where the first group of cases became diagnosed in the early 1970’s. Severe cases can lead to neurological problems, depression, paralysis, and in pregnant women, the disease can be fatal to unborn babies. Read here to find out more about Lyme Disease and what the treatments of choice are for those who are suffering.

Lyme Disease occurs when you are bitten by a tick, and it burrows under your skin and emits a bacteria that is screw shaped. Unfortunately many people do not know they have even been bitten, and more than half of all Lyme Disease patients do not develop the early warning rash, and so this illness leads to many other complications such as cardiac problems, arthritis, joint pain and swelling, and stiffness that can be very painful.

The first sign that you or someone you love may have Lyme Disease will often be the warning rash that occurs after the tick bite. The rash will develop as a donut shape around the area of the tick bite, and this may take a few weeks even to occur. In more than half of the cases reported, this rash does not show up and you may not know you have a problem until more serious symptoms arise.

There are a number of treatments available for Lyme Disease, but given the wide array of symptoms you may experience, you will want to try a multi-pronged approach if your symptoms are extensive. Alternative therapies have been found to be very effective in treating Lyme Disease, and can include massage, physical therapy, and even occupational therapy if you have the common symptoms of swelling, tenderness, and joint pain. Soaking in Jacuzzi tubs or taking long warm baths will also alleviate some of your swelling and tenderness at the joints. more…

If you’re considering continuing medication during pregnancy or nursing, chances are you need that drug. Chances are that without it, your quality of life will be severely impaired. Whether you need treatment for cancer, autoimmune diseases, asthma, allergies, lupus, colitis, arthritis, Still’s disease, Bell’s palsy, Chrohn’s disease, pemphigus, sarcoidosis, kidney disease, mononucleosis, Epstein-Barr, organ transplant, migraines, or many others, choosing to go off your medication is always going to be a big decision. It doesn’t make it any easier that the medical community hasn’t reached a consensus on whether pregnant and nursing women should discontinue treatment. The best you can hope for is an informed doctor to assist in your decision-making process. Below, you will find specific information on the issues concerning this corticosteroid drug, pregnancy, and nursing.

Category C

Prednisolone, the active ingredient converted by the liver, is placed in pregnancy category C by the FDA. Pregnancy category C drugs have shown bad effects on fetuses using controlled animal reproduction studies. However, these drugs have not had adequate enough testing with human studies for the FDA to approve of or warn against usage. They note that category C medications may “warrant use” during pregnancy even when the dangers are taken into account.

So where does that leave you? Nowhere really. All that says is, “See if you think it’s worth it.” So, assuming you know the benefits of continuing medication, let’s take a look at the risks.

Pregnancy

While there have not been any large studies on humans involving the FDA or meeting their standards, studies have shown that the risk of birth defects in non-human animal testing is elevated. Specifically, cleft palate may be a danger in human fetuses. This finding comes from four epidemiological studies, and one specific one in California, which showed a significant rise in the defect. However, there have been many similar studies which show no statistically significant results for any specific birth defect. The result is wide open for debate, but it seems as if there is not a danger clear enough to indict the drug, and that speaks volumes. You can see why it is pregnancy class C. more…

Social anxiety comes in many different forms with a wide range of different trigger situations which provoke the anxiety or panic attack. But one of the more common problems is the need to speak in public. Whether in the office or some other place where “others” will listen to you speak, this provokes anything from slight nervousness to paralyzing fear. Some will experience insomnia in the build-up to the “big day”, others will physically shake, their brow will break out into sweat, and their voices will tremble. It’s a sad sight to behold. Although medication can and does help, it’s far better to try overcoming the problem yourself. Let’s start with the obvious. Never refuse the chance to do it. The more you give into the temptation to avoid speaking, the worse your fear is going to get. This is something you have to face and overcome. That said, you don’t have to book the largest local venue and invite hundreds to listen to you. This is something you solve with slow and deliberate steps, aiming to plant the first seeds of confidence and then encourage them into life.

Whatever it is you are to speak on, you have to know and understand the content. People tend to go off topic when they are uncertain of which points are genuinely important. The more you reduce the chances for error, the better your performance is likely to be. So get organized. Plan exactly what you want to say. If you are proposing to use Powerpoint or something similar, get the slides prepared early and practice with them. The more you rehearse, the less nervous you will be. Yes, it’s a bit of a clich?. But practicing the whole really does make the delivery perfect. But don’t just stand in front of a mirror in your bedroom. Get some friends to come and listen. Trust them to offer constructive comments. Learn from their reactions. If you have to stand without the benefit of anything convenient on which to put notes, there’s nothing wrong with holding a set of cards in one hand. Even top professional do it to ensure they don’t miss out anything important. more…

Acid reflux is the synonym often used to describe gastro esophageal reflux disease (GERD), a health condition that is characterized by excessive acid reflux that damages the esophagus. This health problem is known to affect people regardless of their age, but the most vulnerable groups are pregnant women, smokers and people who tend to eat right before bedtime.

The most common symptoms of this condition include heartburn; discomfort in the esophagus; chest pain; cough; hoarseness and problems with swallowing. These symptoms usually take place after a person has consumed a large meal or some alcohol, or after smoking a cigarette.

Acid reflux problems are known to be influenced by problems with the esophagus sphincter. In some cases it can be caused by excessive production of acid in the stomach. Lower amounts of acid produced can also cause GER symptoms because in such a situation the esophageal sphincter won’t open and allow food to get into the stomach, causing irritation to the esophagus itself.

Some health conditions can influence the development of GERD: hiatus hernia, zollinger-elison syndrome, hypercalcemia, scleroderma and systemic sclerosis.

Most people tend to believe that acid reflux problems are strongly influenced by alcohol, tea and coffee consumption. And while these substances can really aggravate the problem for people who already have GERD, they alone cannot influence the development of this condition in a healthy person. When comparing risk factors, smoking strongly increases the change of developing this disease when compared to tea, coffee and alcohol. Still, if you already have signs of GERD you should be very cautious when choosing foods and beverages to take. Physicians recommend avoiding alcohol intake and reducing the amounts of tea and coffee that you drink in order to prevent further development of the problem. more…

With all the bad press that “cosmetic” drugs get these days, it’s nice to find one that is lauded for its medical abilities. While the hairless have long been persecuted by the haired, they have also called bald people vain for worrying about their appearance. It’s just hair right?
Surprisingly, it’s not just hair.

Prostate Woes

The same thing that causes male pattern hair loss and baldness plays a big part in the development of prostate cancer. The culprit is a hormone, dihydrotestosterone, which is common in all men, but comes in higher levels at certain times for some than for other men at other times. Dihydrotestosterone is an androgen, a class of hormones named so because they are essential to men and the development of male characteristics (andro is from the Ancient Greek for male).

While you can thank dihydrotestosterone for the development of the external male sex organs, because it is produced in the prostate, there are unwanted complications that come with it: namely, benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate cancer. And, oh yeah, male pattern baldness.

Some of our knowledge about this androgen has come through research into pseudohermaphroditism, a condition in which the affected person is born with sex characteristics in between what is typically expected of males or females. These individuals are usually raised as female, but are technically male; they simply lack the necessary amount of dihydrotestosterone to develop fully. Interestingly and remarkably, these individuals do not seem to develop prostate cancer either.

As thousands of patients were studied later on in different research studies and clinical trials, the link began to strengthen, even if the data has not been exactly clear on what that link is. Some studies have shown that people without male pattern baldness are less likely to get prostate cancer. Others, however, have shown that people with early onset male pattern baldness are least likely yet to have problems with their prostate later in life. more…

Real life does sometimes appear in movies. You only have to think of Jack Nicholson in “Something’s Gotta Give” to see an older man relying on a little blue pill to ensure a great performance with a hot young woman. Yes, there are some movies that dare to mention the possibility of erectile dysfunction except most pull their punches one way or the other. Which makes it all the more pleasing to see “Love & Other Drugs” starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway about a sales representative for Pfizer in the 1990’s just before the little blue pills are launched. This makes the movie one of the most explicit both in the extent of time our leading couple spend naked on the screen and on new ground being broken in product placement. Based on the non-fiction book by Jamie Reidy called, “Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman”, this movie makes no secret of our hero’s employer nor the name of their new product. In marketing terms, you can’t have a better platform from which to sell your product than this. Except this is a rather sickly romantic drama in which our sexually athletic hero beds our soon-to-be-ill heroine and then has to turn himself from a love bunny into a supportive caring guy. Like tiger losing stripes and getting leopard spots, or something. Frankly, unless all you want to watch a Hollywood couple put in a significant amount of time naked, this is not the movie for you.

All of which leads to the vital question: what would make a good movie about erectile dysfunction? Or could there ever be a good movie with erectile dysfunction as its main theme? I suppose we could take “American Pie” as a model. Although it’s actually about premature ejaculation, it nevertheless places a sexual problem front and center. Except it’s a comedy. A little like “Silence of the Loins” or “A Hard Day’s Night” or “Flop Gun”. Yes, it’s easy to poke fun at the problem in the appropriately named “Everything You Always Wanted to Ask About Sex But Were Afraid To Ask”, but more serious movies are difficult to find. Except there’s “Bliss” where Craig Sheffer and Sheryl Lee are helped through their sexual problems by Terence Stamp. This is a seriously good movie with everyone listening to and learning from each other to arrive at perfect sex. Or possibly “Lonesome Jim” with Casey Affleck being nursed back to emotional and physical health by Liv Tyler. more…

Discussing and communicating is very important for any relationship. And when the financial aspects come into the scene the importance of the aforementioned activities becomes even more significant.

When you taken the step and joined with your significant other into a unity of marriage, there are a lot of changes coming your way including the financial aspects as well. With your new status you will share all the responsibilities together and that could mean a lot of thinking and evaluating. So the first thing you might want to do is to sit down with your spouse and take a good look at your current financial situation. Take all the assets and liabilities, subtract the latter from the former and you will have a general idea of your new family’s net worth at the moment. This a good starting point for a family budget and a financial plan that both of you will share during the years of your marriage, and the more precise and detailed it is the easier it will be for you to control your incomes and expenses.

Your short and long term goals should also be evaluated and normalized. Any saving goals should be discussed and if one of you is planning a vacation in the near future, the other should know about that and know that the money are kept for this purpose. The same applies to more distant goals such as retirement or house purchase. When you have outlined your goals it is important to set priorities according to the following key questions:

• How this goal can be accomplished?
• How much time and effort will it take to reach this goal?
• Can this goal be preceded by another one?
• Will the accomplishment of this goal help reach another one?

Analyzing insurance needs

Being a married couple gives you a broad range of insurance options that you couldn’t benefit from while being single. So it really pays to re-evaluate your insurance needs and options once you’ve changed your marital status. Keep in mind that now you have common interests regarding insurance and the needs of both of you should be met with an adequate policy. more…

Even though we are made to believe that pleasure doesn’t come without pain, this statement can be proven wrong. Satisfaction is the result of sexual activity between two people and nothing should interfere. Lovemaking doesn’t always make people happy even when both partners want it very much. What can possibly be the cause? We will try to explain below.

Sexual intercourse is a test for men. They like to have sex because it gives them unbelievable power and a strong belief that they can create unforgettable moments with their woman. Of course, every man, even that one that isn’t in a relationship wants to find a sexual partner that will make a sexual couple with even just for a night. But in some cases, the desire to have sex and the ability to have it are on the opposite sides. It means that it can happen so that one or another man will not be able to sustain an erection and orgasm.

This is one of the most delicate issues for men as they find it difficult to confess they don’t function well in the sexual way. There are lots of pills and medications that promise to take all the worries away. Some really do help. Some are just all promises. It is necessary to understand the importance of the treatment though. Physical problems find their reflection in our heads at some point if not gotten rid of in time.

The inability to solve the matter with your own forces makes men shut out from reality. They tend to stop all the communication and interaction with others. This can’t lead to a happy end. more…